1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to graphical user interfaces, more particularly to one that utilizes background images.
2. Background of the Invention
Most computer users are very familiar with three aspects of the graphical user interfaces (GUI) in use today. They are windowing, icons and background images. These common aspects span all types of computer operating systems such as the Macintosh(copyright) operating systems, the various versions of Microsoft""s Windows(copyright) operating system and Unix(copyright) operating systems. These are just intended as examples and are not meant to limit the application of the invention to these operating systems.
Windowing involves the presentation of several active processes that can be monitored by the user by looking at a window drawn for that specific process. Icons are typically used to represent dormant applications or files, either to avoid using a process window on the screen or to represent a shortcut to an inactive application. The background image is most easily exemplified by what is referred to as wallpaper. This is the image that resides on the screen behind all the windows and icons.
For purposes of this discussion, several terms will have to be specified. A window that has an associated application will be referred to as a process window. The executable program, such as a word processor, an e-mail reader, or a compiler, for example, will be referred to as an application. The particular files these applications operate upon, such as a specific document for the word processor or a software program being compiled, will be referred to as files. For example, an icon may be for an application, such as MS Word, or it may be for a particular document, such as mydocument.doc.
There has been a considerable amount of work in these areas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,644, issued Jul. 4, 1989, is directed to the ability to have several processes running at once, with each process having its own window. A display manager handles interaction with the user, so the user""s selection of a particular window brings that window to the front of the other windows, moving the unselected windows behind it. It still allows the user to see the other windows, so if the user needs to see the processes running in the other windows, they are still available as selections.
This can be further explained with reference to prior art FIG. 1. The user""s screen 10 can have several windows 12a-12f. The windows may cascade, as is the case of windows 12b, 12c and 12d, where one window is partially in front of the others. The windows may be positioned side by side, as is the case with windows 12a and 12c. However, a problem can occur if one window is sized and positioned by the user and then another window is brought to the front. This can be seen by windows 12d and 12e, which has become completely covered by the larger window.
Several solutions have been proposed for this problem. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,522,025, issued May 28, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,639, issued Jan. 12, 1999 exemplify some of these solutions. The ""025 patent has a solution wherein the applications redraw their own windows as necessary. The ""639 patent actually applies to both windows and icons, wherein these items uncover themselves when they become hidden or buried.
Another problem with the process windows occurs due to the increasing power of processors. As processors become more powerful, they can run more and more processes simultaneously. This results in several process windows being present on the user""s screen. The display becomes cluttered and unpleasant for the user.
One solution for this is to reduce the processes to a task bar item, typically located on a bar running horizontally across the display, or to an icon. Both of these have very similar properties, such as not being able to see what is occurring in these processes without some special user selection being made. For example, in the Windows(copyright) environment, an e-mail reader can have a flag set by the user that makes the button on the bottom of the screen blink when a new e-mail message comes in. However, there is no way to see what the message is about or from whom without activating the e-mail reader into yet another process window.
Similarly, icons typically do not have any information associated with them except for the name of the application or the file. For some xe2x80x98shortcutxe2x80x99 icons that identify the particular file, the icon represents the application and a text tag identifies the file. One solution to this minimal information has been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,779, issued Apr. 21, 1998. In this example, the icons are used to convey more information when the cursor is hovered over the icon, or the icon is otherwise activated. However, this solution does not overcome the problems of having to activate the icon to acquire more information.
One are a in which icons have become very useful is in embedding objects within other objects. For example, when a document is e-mailed to a recipient, it is very convenient to embed an iconic representation into the e-mail. It allows the recipient to see both the application that created the document and the document name itself. Such a process is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,686, issued Jun. 2, 1998.
Other applications of embedding icons and images into other images exist, such as the one discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,726, issued Aug. 19, 1997. This patent discusses the ability to embed external data into such things as bitmaps, fax data and other data formats, without altering the original image. However, no mention is made of using this type of embedding to solve the problems discussed above of too many processes windows or limited information conveyed by icons.
Therefore, a method of creating a user interface that conveys useful information without overburdening the user with too much clutter on their screen.
One aspect of the invention is a method for creating a graphical user interface. The method includes the steps of sizing and locating an active process window for embedding into a background image. A graphical representation is created for the active process window and information relevant to the process window is associated with the graphical representation. The graphical representation is then embedded into a background image. Activity with regards to the embedded process window is then monitored. The embedded process window can become active upon user action, a triggering event, or both.
Alternatively, the monitoring of the activity may involve updating the embedded process window. The update may trigger off a particular event occurring in the underlying process, or may be a periodic update, or both. The embedded process window contains the actual information normally displayed in an active window, thereby giving the user more information and the ability to make priority decisions based upon the information.